John Mayer on how Katy Perry relationship inspired his new music: 'Who else would I be thinking about?'

It's been nearly four years since John Mayer released his most recent full-length album, Paradise Valley. Fortunately for Mayer's fans, the wait for new music is over April 14, when The Search for Everything -- which he has teased with two "waves" so far -- drops in full.

In those first two waves of new material, Mayer has released eight tracks, three of which reveal something pretty personal about the 39-year-old: He's not totally over Katy Perry.

If titles "Still Feel Like Your Man," "You're Gonna Live Forever in Me" and "Moving On and Getting Over" aren't indicative enough that Mayer is feeling a sense of regret over a past relationship, he was pretty frank about the song's subject in a new interview with The New York Times. "Who else would I be thinking about?"

Mayer was specifically talking about the track "Still Feel Like Your Man" (which features lines such as "I still keep your shampoo in my shower" and "Still think I'm never gonna find another you") -- and while the song is certainly telling about his feelings, he stressed that it's also a testament to the fact that Perry was his only serious relationship in the last five or six years. "That was my only relationship," he added. "So it's like, give me this, people."

Not all eight of the songs in waves one and two of The Search for Everything revolve around heartbreak, but at least those three breakup tunes triggered Mayer's emotional side. "There were times when tears came out of me, and I went, OK, John, this is not about an on-again, off-again relationship. This is something more profound."

Since Perry and Mayer's on-and-off relationship officially came to an end in 2015, Mayer says he uses an exclusive dating app from time to time, but "there are very few people actually meeting up." Still, after recently becoming an uncle, he admits that he's ready to settle down.

"That's the final frontier, man," he said. And with his 40th birthday approaching this October, he acknowledged that he may be celebrating as a single man. "I wish there was somebody to throw me the 40th."

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He continued by confessing that he'd like to have a baby that would sit side-stage with his wife (protective earphones on, of course), also admitting that he's wary about settling into another bachelor-pad-type residence. "I want to say, 'We'll take it,'" he said, adding, "I'm right on time for my career, and I'm running late for my life."

Even if the album after The Search for Everything continues the narrative longing for Perry, Mayer insists that he's not afraid to write vulnerable music about true events. And no matter the topic, it's going to be him -- and only him -- writing the material.

"My record has one name in the parentheses on every song, and it's my name," he said. "That's important."

Read Mayer's full New York Times interview here.